It’s been one year since the start of the Rape of Marawi, referred to by the Media as the Marawi “Siege” and later, the Battle of Marawi.

I have refrained from writing about Marawi because it is very hard for me to accept that it was happening / it really happened. It’s really a miracle, but in a very negative sense.

I never imagined that the Philippine government and military can be so evil-minded. And they were/are supported by the Supreme Court and Congress and most of the Filipino people.

I never imagined that the Mranaos or the Moros would allow the Philippine government to totally destroy one significant city. I never imagined the Moro armed groups like the MILF, MNLF, BIFF ,etc. to just watch as the bombs fall on Marawi.

I never imagined intelligent Filipinos not doing anything to stop the Rape of Marawi, except for some rare individuals like Cong. Edcel Lagman, who almost single-handedly opposed the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao.

I never imagined the Supreme Court and the Senate to agree on long-term Martial Law in Mindanao when it is palpably AGAINST the Constitution and totally WITHOUT basis.

I never imagined Moro leaders could go down the level of cowards and lapdogs just so they can maintain their political positions.

I never imagined that people can be so idiotic as to believe that it takes six or so months to defeat 50, or even 200, armed civilians against the might of a country’s armed forces — thousands of troops armed with tanks, armored vehicles, heavy firepower including RPGs, jet planes armed with so many bombs plus the aid of US military advisers and drones.

I never imagined that people can be so intellectually damaged as to to believe that to defeat a hundred or so armed civilians, even if they claimed to be part of a sinister international terrorist group, one needs to pulverize practically a whole city.

I never imagined that people have lost their sense of logical reasoning as to believe that the military that pulverized a whole city in order to defeat a ragtag army of 100 of so civilians, with no surface-to-air missiles or anti-tank weapons, would not kill civilians or loot the houses, even if presented evidence to the contrary.

I never thought that people would be so naive and gullible as to believe that even after declaring total victory over supposed enemies, the government still refused to let the residents back to their ruined houses — for months! What were they doing? Covering up their crimes of murder and robbery by burning the houses with tell-tale signs?

I never thought the the world media, organizations like the UN and ASEAN and citizens of the world would just believe the crap that the Philippine government and media present to the world.

I never thought I would see the day when Mranaos lose their dignity, self-esteem, pride and their vaunted MARATABAT.

I so miss my eldest brother, Macapanton Rashid Yahya Abbas, Jnr. He was the brain of the Bangsa Moro revolution. If he were alive today, the Rape of Marawi would probably have not happened. He was beholden to no one and he was always fighting for Moro freedom. He had wide powerful connections – both local and international – and was well respected by almost everyone.

If he were alive, I would have been the first to egg him on to defend Marawi.

When he passed away, I wrote in my website The Moro Review that the end of the Bangsa Moro Revolution had finally come. The so-called Marawi “Siege” has buried the Bangsa Moro revolution. The MNLF and MILF are nothing but bad jokes.

Any grain of respect I had for the Philippine media had totally vanished during the months-long Rape of Marawi.

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A ravaged City… Photo by Reuters

A UP Journalism student doing her thesis on the Marawi “Siege” interviewed me on my thoughts about it. (I use quotation marks because I am not sure who the media refers to as those doing the siege and those being besieged.)

Weeks after the personal interview, she emailed me additional questions. These are her emailed questions and my answers:

UP Journ Student: What are your thoughts on how media portrayed the events that transpired in Marawi? In your opinion, where do you think media lacked in covering these events? Why?

ME: The essence of journalism is VERIFICATION. On the very first day of the Crisis, the mass media interviewed the military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla and other military officers. They all said that there were no ISIS members in Mindanao or in the Philippines. AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año himself assured everyone that Marawi was “under control” and that the Maute group numbered around 50 only. (Note: The CNN link –http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/05/24/marawi-crisis-timeline.html – has been updated and the quote from Gen. Año was deleted. Why?? See Changing Marawi Narratives for the quote.)

And just a few hours after the announcements of the generals, Duterte, who was in Russia, suddenly declared that ISIS was in the Philippines and he declared Martial Law all over Mindanao.

A responsible media would have grilled the generals who told all and sundry that there was no ISIS presence in the Philippines. Did the President know better than the generals? And later, when then Cong. Harry Roque was interviewed on TV, he said that just an hour or so before Duterte’s declaration, he was with all the military and intelligence advisers of Duterte and they all said that there was no ISIS in the Philippines and that everything was under control. Roque was also in Russia as part of Duterte’s entourage.

Accdg. to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, the Elements of Journalism, among others, are:

Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.

Its first loyalty is to citizens.

Its essence is a discipline of verification.

Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.

It must serve as an independent monitor of power.

It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.

It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

Re: Marawi coverage, all these elements of Journalism were/are missing. Although, I am not sure about the last one.

I saw an interview of George Cariño. He was interviewed on his experience in covering Marawi. He even cried. He said something which intrigued me. He said that they were not allowed to use some words or phrases in their coverage. What was that? Self-censorship? Is that related to last element above?

If what happened to Marawi were to happen in a Christian-populated city? Would the Philippine media do the same thing as they did in Marawi?

UP Journ Student: How does the news coverage of the Marawi siege affect the public’s perception on it? What do you think are the other issues that will be affected because of the media’s news coverage of the Marawi conflict? What do you think are the factors that affect the packaging of news?

ME: The public’s – esp. The Christian majority’s – knowledge of Marawi came / comes from the media. Their perception of the Rape of Marawi was seen through the spectacles of media. The narratives the public got were all crafted by the government and disseminated through the media.

FRAMING is one BIG factor that affects the packaging of news.

The framing is terribly skewed in favor of the government’s narrative.

CONTEXTUALIZING. The context is terribly WRONG. From the media’s narrative, the context is as follows:

Marawi and the residents of Marawi are just like any Filipino, with the same shared history. All of a sudden, a group who represents a foreign-based jihadist terrorist group called ISIS, appeared and took hostage a whole city. The residents fled, Duterte declared Martial Law and massive military forces came in to the rescue, like the cavalry of the old US of A. And the people of Marawi applauded and were/are ever thankful for the Philippine government and soldiers. (This is so nauseating to most Mranaos…)

The public does not know the REAL CONTEXT. Marawi and Mranaos are not of the ordinary Filipino variety. The Mranaos are part of the Bangsa Moro who have been fighting the Philippine Republic since 1970 – for 48 years!!! And they fought the Americans for more than 20 years and the Spaniards for 350 years.

Given a choice between the Philippine government and a Muslim group, the average Moro would choose the Muslim group.

The reason for the Jabidah Massacre in 1968 was that the young Moros recruited by the Philippine military refused to go to Sabah to fight their fellow Muslims. They chose to side with their fellow Muslims than with the Philippine government.

The Moros are not Filipinos, in many sense of the term.

And what is the CONTEXT of ISIS? And the Caliphate?(Note: All of a sudden, a group of Al-Qaeda supporters proclaimed themselves to be a worldwide Caliphate in 2014 and called itself, the Islamic State or ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah. The Caliphate is the government of the whole Muslim World or Ummah. The last Caliph was Abdulmecid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who was deposed by Kemal Attaturk in 1924. )

ISIS means Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. It doesn’t include Mindanao or Marawi. If it does, it would be ISMIS!!!

ISIS, esp. during the time of the Rape of Marawi, was being bombed out in Iraq and Syria. They couldn’t possibly have any care about Marawi, thousands of miles away. The Mranaos are not even Arabs.

And what is the Caliphate? There has been a Caliphate (Khilafa) movement in the Islamic world since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and with it, the last Caliph.

But not just any idiot can claim to be a Caliph, like not any idiot can claim to be the Pope or the King/Queen of the British Commonwealth (formerly, British Empire).

The Hashemite Kings of Jordan and Morocco would be the first in line to be the new Caliph, not idiots put up by the US CIA. And not any idiot can be declared an Emir or Prince of a province of the Caliphate. (Hapilon of Abu Sayyaf was supposed to be the Emir of Philippines or Southeast Asia, accdg. to the government. Hahahahahaha!!!!!!)

Several years ago, American and European intelligence agencies started rumors about Muslims wanting to establish the Caliphate. But they were demonizing the Caliphate.

I thought then that the Westerners must be soooo dumb. Didn’t they know anything about the Caliphate (khilafa) movement, which has been around since 1918 or thereabouts? Little did I know that they were laying the predicate for ISIS.

EQUALIZING. The Media equalizes the strength of 50 or so Maute supporters, mostly kids, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines – with heavy weaponry, dozens of tanks, armored vehicles, airplane bombers and thousands of troops plus drones from the Americans.

SANITIZING. There were many reports of civilian deaths, but none were focused on by the media. And there was MASSIVE LOOTING but hardly any reports by the media.

UP Journ Student: In your opinion, what issues do you think the media should prioritize and should cover more during their coverage? Why?

ME: HUMAN RIGHTS is a foremost issue.

Right now, there should be focus on REPARATIONS — the Mranaos should be paid for the damage brought to their homes and properties.

MILITARIZATION – It looks like the government is intent on building more military camps in Marawi and thus become an Occupying power.

LAND GRABBING. The government seems intent on stealing Moro lands, again.

The Americans, and later, the Philippine government, delcared ALL MORO LANDS as PUBLIC DOMAIN. And since titling of Lands is not customary among Mranaos, most lands in Lanao are not titled. The government wants to steal them all over again.

And what is the QUID PRO QUO with the MILF and MNLF? The fact that MILF and MNLF supported the government means that they already made a deal with them. Why is the MEDIA mum on that? Whatever the deal is with both groups must have a great impact on the whole country.

UP Journ Student: What should be the media’s role in the conflict? What are the ways the media can do to live up to its role?

ME: The Philippine Media personnel, esp. the journalists, should adhere to the Elements of Journalism as espoused by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. (see ther first answer)

Later, I emailed her one more point. I wrote:
“When ISIS hq abroad claimed that the lone gunman in the Resorts World casino shooting was their member, the media ignored the claim.

Yet the same media immediately believed the president when he declared that ISIS was in Marawi with no evidence and contrary to the assertions of AFP generals who, just a few hours earlier than Duterte’s allegation, assured the public on national media that there were no ISIS in the Philippines.

Double standard???!!!

————– end of Question and Answers —————–

I would like to add more points.

In Marawi, a report that about 50 supporters – untrained civilians, mostly kids – of the Maute family, allegedly linked to ISIS, were roaming around Marawi City, was enough for the President to order the immediate evacuation of Marawi City and to declare Martial Law all over Mindanao and then to bring the might of the Armed Forces of the Philippines plus American drones and advisers to bomb the Islamic City of Marawi (or parts thereof) to kingdom come!

During the Cory Aquino administration, a group of highly-trained military troops headed by Col. Honasan, took over the Ayala Avenue area of Makati. The Cory Aquino government did not declare Martial Law or mercilessly bombed the highly urbanized Makati business district.

MARTIAL LAW DECLARATION

The Philippine Constitution states: “In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.”

In May last year, when Martial Law was declared, there was NEITHER INVASION NOR REBELLION in Mindanao. According to military officers — the AFP Chief of Staff no less and the AFP spokesman — there were only about 50 MAUTE clan members in Marawi and NO ISIS presence in Marawi, Mindanao or the Philippines.

Only idiots and morons and occupying powers (who think Moros are their enemies and need to be subjected to their powers) can justify the declaration of Martial Law in the whole of Mindanao!

The fact that Congress and the Supreme Court believe that there should be Martial Law in Mindanao (forever, if needed) only means that the Christian majority are playing along with the government. While there is Martial Law officially all over Mindanao, everything is business-as-usual in Christian-dominated provinces. Martial Law is just in full effect in Muslim-dominated provinces, esp. Lanao del Sur, incl. Marawi City.

MARAWI EVACUATION DUE TO EXPECTED BOMBING

The primary cause for the evacuation of Marawi was not the people’s fear of the Maute clan. Most Mranao families are well-armed. They are not afraid of just one armed family or clan. But they are afraid of being bombed by government forces.

Just a few months previous to the Rape of Marawi, the government bombed Butig, the stronghold of the Mautes. The residents of Marawi were afraid of government bombs, not Maute guns. In fact, about a few hours before the declaration of Martial Law, one Mranao woman was interviewed via phone by Karen Davila. The woman pleaded to the military, through the news program, not to bomb Marawi. She said that they did not want to suffer the same fate as the people of Butig.

And what forced the residents to flee was the declaration of Martial Law. With Martial Law, the local elected officials would be powerless. The military would reign supreme. And the Mranaos, like most Moros, do not love the Philippine military.

And if a Marawi resident was still not convinced to evacuate, the order by the Office of the Governor/Vice Governor to leave made the reluctant Marawi resident no choice.

The Marawi evacuation was the most important ingredient in the Rape of Marawi. The bombing of Marawi would not cause a lot of deaths. There would be no genocide to complain of. Apparently, the world could not care less about destruction of buildings, houses and mosques and roads and bridges. The massive looting by the soldiers and the unnecessary killings of some civilians on the side could easily be overlooked by the world’s media, who would focus on the government’s meta-narrative.

BANGSA MORO REVOLUTION – the NEXT PHASE

Prof. Cesar Adib Majul, the “mentor” to the Bangsa Moro revolution, wrote that there were six (6) stages or phases of the Moro Wars — the wars between the Moros and the Spanish conquistadors. If that were so, then the 7the stage of the Moro Wars was the one fought against the Americans. And the 8th stage was the MNLF/MILF wars against the Republic of the Philippines that began around 1969 / 1970.

The Rape of Marawi has finally wrote FINIS to the 8th phase of the Moro Wars. Practically all its leaders are gone. Dean C. Adib Majul, the mentor; Sultan Rashid Lucman, the Father of the revolution; Ustadz Hashem Salamat, the Spirit of the revolution; and Prof. Abbas, the Brain of the revolution are all dead. The OIC-recognized Head of the revolution, Nur Misuari is politically dead, even if he is being resuscitated by Mr. Duterte.

The above-mentioned leaders were modern leaders, educated and were inspired by the orthodox, classical and peace-loving Islamic ideology. The next set of leaders might come from extreme and radical forms of Islamic ideology, something like the Taliban or Wahhabi or Al-Qaeda variety. That would be very bad for the whole Philippines.

Sometime in 1991 or earlier, Mr. Alfonso Felix, Jr. obtained copies of two historical documents from the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid written in 1755. He promptly translated the two texts entitled “The Siege of Palumpong” and “The Battle of Iligan.” The Society of Jesus printed the original Spanish texts in 1755 in Manila. The English translation by Alfonso Felix, Jr. was printed in Quezon City in 1991, more than two centuries later. The two articles, together with his Report and Acknowledgement speech, were published in a booklet titled Episodes of the Moro Wars. (I bought my copy from National Bookstore).

The subtitle of the Palumpong article states that it was a “report of the valiant defense put up by the Visayan natives of the town of Palumpong in the Island of Leyte of the Province of Catbalogan in the Philippines against the Muslim attack carried by the Ilanons (sic) and the Maranaos in the month of June 1754.” On the other hand, the Iligan article was a “summary of the victories that to the great glory of God and to the Luster and Honor of the Royal Catholic Arms of His Majesty in defense of the Christian communities and Islands of the Visayas were achieved against the Muslim enemies by the armada detached to the fortress of Iligan which is on the shores of the Island of Mindanao in the year 1754.”

PRIESTS AS PROPAGANDISTS AND MILITARY COMMANDERS

It must be noted that priests, in this case, the Jesuits, printed the texts. During the Moro-Spanish wars, the priests led the fight against the Moros. The priest was responsible for building the town’s fort, providing ammunition and cannons and commanding the “army”. He appointed all officers and men of the militia, guards and sentinels. Consequently, the friars were the Moros’ prime targets. They were decapitated, captured and generally ill-treated. The friar’s ransom went no less than 1,000 pesos and even went as high as 10,000 pesos (Dery, 1997, p.64). It can then be safely assumed that the texts were not objectively written. On the contrary, the texts most probably were propaganda materials used by the friars to lift the morale of the Christian natives, whom they called “naturales”.

HISTORICAL CONSERVATION SOCIETY

In 1991, Mr. Alfonso Felix, Jr. was the President of the Historical Conservation Society. The members of the Society at that time included Alejandro Melchor, Jesus Lazatin, Antonio Araneta, Jr., Enrique Syquia, Ernesto Aboitiz, Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., Antonio Concepcion, Francisco Elizalde, O.D. Corpuz, etc. – a veritable Who’s Who among the Filipino elites.

In his Report and Acknowledgement speech of Aug. 28, 1991 in Manila, he minced no words. His prejudices and biases against the Moros and Muslims, in general, knew no bounds.

About Islam, he said: “…there seems to be in Islam something that pushes its adherents to a delight in the pain of others. The names of Genghis Khan and Tamerlaine are too well-known to need further comment.”

His hatred for Muslims is evident. He wrote: “Let us take the case of Salman Rushdie whom the Holy Ayatollah condemned to death and who is now living in hiding. Unfortunately, the British have gone soft. If they had made it clear to the Iranians that the death of Salman Rushdie would result in the destruction of Teheran, the Iranians would think twice before inflicting their religion on civilized countries.”

He called Moros names like “devils in human form” or citizens “of the Republic of Mad Dogs” or “reptiles”. He obviously believed that the Moro Wars are not yet over. And his recommendation: “I do not think Christian Filipinos are afraid of Moros. A modern army equipped with the weapons of today and above all with the will to use them will soon cause the Moros to reconsider. When the Italians used poison gas in Ethiopia in 1935 many Ethiopians were exterminated and the liberals of the world found themselves in tears. I do not find poison gas used against Ethiopians deplorable.”

He even counseled the then President Aquino thus: “I invite our President, Her Excellency Da. Corazon Cojuangco vda. de Aquino to reflect on my words for I feel I am expressing with these words the opinion of the majority of Filipino peasants and Filipino soldiers.”

READER-TEXT RELATIONSHIP

Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher known for his phenomenological hermeneutics and like fellow Hermeneutics philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer, believes that the reader and the text share an intimate relationship. In fact, “the text can speak to and change the interpreter.”(Littlejohn:1979, p.209) Ricoeur calls this process appropriation, i.e., a reader who agrees with the messages of the text, appropriates the ideas of the text as his very own.

From the above example, it is patently clear that the 1755 texts and Mr. Felix had an “intimate interaction.” Although 236 years separate the text and the reader (Mr. Felix), the reader appropriated the meaning of the texts. Mr. Felix was so worked up by the messages of the text such that he ended up delivering a very emotional address to the Historical Conservation Society.

Mr. Felix was obviously a rich and intelligent Filipino. He spoke Spanish fluently and presumably was well-read and well-traveled. Presumably, he was well respected by the society at large. He was after all, the head of the Historical Conservation Society as well as a friend of foreign dignitaries.

Yet his speech could rank as one of the most bigoted speeches of the century. Was he not afraid of ridicule from his colleagues in the Historical Society? Apparently, he knew them and he knew that all of them shared the same prejudices. Perhaps the others just did not dare express them publicly.

Stanley Fish, another theorist who uses the hermeneutic circle, maintains, “readers are members of interpretive communities, groups that interact with one another, construct common realities and meanings and employ those in their readings.”(Littlejohn, p.209) The world may be shocked at Mr. Felix’s speech, but Mr. Felix very well knew that he and his audience belonged to the same interpretive community and therefore the meanings he derived from the old Spanish text would be shared by everyone in his Society.

Stanley Fish’s reader-response theory does not ask, “What does a text mean?” but “What does a text do?” In this example, the 1755 Spanish texts prompted the President of an historical society in 1991 to deliver and publish a scathing attack on Islam, the Moros and the Muslims.

Mr. Felix also proved the hermeneutic belief that “history is not separated from the present. We are always simultaneously part of the past, in the present, and anticipating the future…” Although the texts were hundreds of years old and that the present political reality is so very different from the one depicted in the texts, Mr.Felix’s reaction was still as if the Past is the Present.

Although the Moro Wars between the Moros and the Spanish were over a long time ago, he called on the Philippine President, addressing her with the Spanish honorific Doña, to wage war against the Moros.

TEACHING MORO HISTORY TO FILIPINOS

There are some people clamoring for Moro history to be taught to Filipino high school or college students.

First of all, there is a dearth of textbooks on Moro history. I could only think of Cesar Adib Majul’s Muslims in the Philippines. I doubt if Saleh Jubair’s Nation Under Endless Tyranny would be considered a good textbook by Christian authorities. The very title would be a no-no.

What would the Christian Filipino history teachers feel if they read documents like the Siege of Palumpong and the Battle of Iligan? Would they, like Mr. Felix, Jr., vent their anger on the Moros by denouncing them in their classes? What would the Christian Filipino teachers feel if they read the sermons and homilies of the Spanish priests denouncing the Muslims and calling on the Indio-Filipinos to join the veritable Crusade against the Moros?

Can the Moros trust the Filipino historians if the President of the Philippine Historical Conservation Society in 1991 called the Moros “devils in human form” or citizens “of the Republic of Mad Dogs” or “reptiles”?
And this same gentleman even declared that he was “expressing with these words the opinion of the majority of Filipino peasants and Filipino soldiers.”

Thus, Mr. Felix, Jr. insisted that his thoughts was shared not only by his fellow elites but also by the Filipino peasants and soldiers.

Mr. Felix was, in effect, saying that he and all sectors of non-Moro Philippines belong to ONE INTERPRETIVE COMMUNITY. And so, how can Moro history be taught in Philippine schools with an interpretation different from how it is being interpreted since Spanish time; i.e., Moros were / are bandits, outlaws, pirates, slavers, heathens, savages, etc.?!

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REFERENCES:

Carr, Edward Hallett (1961) What is History? Vintage Books: New York

Dery, Luis Camara (1997), The Kris in Philippine History: A Study of the Impact of Moro Anti-Colonial Resistance, 1571-1896

An estimated 30,ooo Mranaos from all over Lanao marched to the capital, Marawi City yesterday 22 November to denounce President Aquino’s apparent reluctance to resume the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The rallyists gave their go signal for the MILF to revert to Independence as the goal, and not mere autonomy.

The Moro show of force was matched by the military, who rolled its tanks and armored vehicles into the streets of Marawi. This was the first time the military paraded its military might in Marawi City since Pres. Estrada’s “all-out war” in 2000.

A few years ago, I was quite shocked to hear a Moro UP professor say that Misuari’s legacy was to give the name Bangsa Moro to the Moros. I simply could not conceive of Misuari doing something that original. Besides, I was already aware of the Bangsa Moro movement in the early 1970s, and he certainly was not one of the early prime movers. Has anybody seen Misuari being interviewed on TV or the press in the late 1960s / early 1970s speaking for the Moros? So, I asked my brother, Macapanton Rashid Abbas, Jr. popularly known as Jun, who was his contemporary.

The Dawatul Islam (of which this author was the publisher from 1971-1972) was the official organ of all the Bangsa Moro Organizations united under the Union of Islamic Forces and Organization (UIFO) led by Congressman Sultan Rashid Lucman of Lanao del Sur and Congressman Salipada Pendatun of Cotabato. The said newspaper made researches on the terminology and came out with the term Bangsa Moro meaning, Moro Nation. This author took this phrase or concept from the Zamboanga Declaration and the Dansalan Declaration. It was based on the Moro language.

Even before he became a Moro leader, Jun was unparalleled as a student leader. At the Ateneo de Davao, he was the ROTC Corps Commander, the President of the Student Council, the Editor-in-Chief of the school organ and captain of the debating team, among others.

At the University of the Philippines, he was Grand Archon of the Sigma Rho fraternity, the President of the Inter-Fraternities and Sororities, captain of the debating team which won the national championship, etc.

He was also the President and later Secretary-General of the National Union of Students of the Philippines and Secretary-General of the World University Service.On the Moro front, he was the “brain” of the Moro revolution. He submitted evidence of torture and genocide of the Moro people to the Organization of Islamic Conference in Jeddah in 1972. On the strength of his petition before then OIC head Tengku Abdul Rahman and other OIC leaders, the OIC took cognizance of the Moro struggle.In the early 70s, he was the publisher of the only Moro newsletter in Manila, the Dawat ul Islam, where the atrocities of the Christian vigilantes and Philippine armed forces were exposed.

He led the Moro demonstrations against the Jabidah massacre, the visit of the Israeli leader Abba Eban and against the Marcos administration.

Together with Congressman Rashid Lucman, our mother’s cousin, he formed the Union of Islamic Forces, the National Action Coordinating Council for Islamic Affairs (NACCIA), the Bangsa Moro Liberatin Front and other organizations that laid the foundations of the Moro revolution. These groups sent 90 young Moros to Sabah for combat training. This so-called Top 90 became the core of the MNLF.

He was arrested and put in detention when Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus and then again during Martial Law. But he was released shortly thereafter.

In 1975, Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor asked Jun to join his team to help the Moros through peaceful means. Jun agreed and he was put in-charge of the Presidential Task Force for the Reconstruction and Development of Mindanao. The PTF-RDM was responsible for the creation of the Amanah Bank, Maharlika Village, SPDA, the recognition of Sultan Qudarat as a national hero, etc.

However, more than a year later, he realized that Marcos was not sincere in solving the Moro issue. Melchor was purged and Jun escaped to Saudi Arabia without a valid passport.

In Saudi Arabia, he re-united with Congressman Lucman and Senator Pendatun to form the Bangsa Moro Liberation Organization.

As Secretary-General of the BMLO, Jun together with the two Moro elders, traveled to other countries to drum up support for the Moro revolution. He also helped in funding the ground forces fighting Marcos.

In the early 1980s, the MNLF Congress ousted Misuari. The collective leadership of the MNLF Reformists went to Jeddah to get his support. He became the de facto head of the MNLF Reformist Group although he did not want to be designated as the Chair of the Executive Committee.

In 1986, upon the invitation of then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce-Enrile, he came back to Manila together with several MNLF RG leaders.

He signed the very first post-Tripoli Ceasefire Agreement with the AFP. It was the start of the Peace Process.That was the height of Jun’s popularity among the Moros, especially the armed sectors. If only Mrs. Aquino agreed to talk with Jun and his group, we could have had peace since then.Despite the advice of Cardinal Sin, the OIC and other groups, President Aquino refused to talk with Jun. Ms. Aquino, her brother Butz and other advisers wanted to resurrect Nur Misuari.Ms. Aquino agreed to talk with Jun privately, but Jun refused. He had no private business with her. He wanted to talk officially and transparently.

(Had Aquino agreed to have a peace agreement with Jun’s MNLF at that time, perhaps there would have been peace in Mindanao since. At that time, Jun and his group had the support of the greater part of the MNLF; MILF was not yet a force to reckon with; and the Bangsa Moro people were eager to have peace, especially after the EDSA euphoria. That kind of opportunity may never come back.)

I had been urging my brother to write his memoirs before it was too late. Before he passed away, he wrote a rather long and rambling article for the Ateneo Law Journal where he finally wrote some of his experiences on the Moro front.

The Sultanate of Maguindanao, the lower valley (sa ilud) kingdom, was a harbor sultanate relying heavily on trade and naval power. At the height of its power in the 17th century under Sultan Qudarat and Sultan Barahman, Maguindanao was the acknowledged overlord of all Mindanao, Sulu and even Borneo. The last Maguindanao sultan, Sultan Mangigin, died in the 1920s/30s during the American Occupation.

The Kingdom of BUAYAN

The Sultanate of Buayan, the upper valley (sa raya) kingdom, relied on its rich agricultural lands and had the support of a great number of non-Muslim Malay tribes. The ruler of Buayan chose to stick to the old title of Rajah (a Hindu word for King) to emphasize the fact that the House of Buayan dates back to the Sri Vijaya and Majapahit empires that encompassed most of Southeast Asia. Buayan’s power was eclipsed by Maguindanao during the time of Datu Buisan, Qudarat’s father. Buayan almost regained its old glory when it practically wiped out the remaining Spanish forces in the late 1890s. When the Americans came, Buayan led the fight in Mindanao. Unfortunately, Datu Ali, the Rajah Muda of Buayan, who was about to finally unite Maguindanao and Buayan, was killed by the Americans through treachery of some Moros. The powerful non-royal Moro Chinese datus took over the leadership of the Pulangi and collaborated with the Americans. Thus ended the rule of the royals in Maguindanao and Buayan.

The Confederation of RANAO sultanates

Near the center of the island is the Lake (Ranao), the highest lake in the Philippines. Around this lake live the M’ranaos. Contrary to what some people believe, the Ranao sultanates were never subservient to the Maguindanao royalty. Datu Dimasangkay, the uncle of Qudarat, married into M’ranao/Iranun royalty. From then on, the M’ranaos/Iranuns became firm and loyal allies of Maguindanao royalty. Perhaps it was because of the M’ranao/Iranun connection that Buayan’s power was eclipsed by Maguindanao in the Pulangi area. It must be noted that when Qudarat was defeated by the Spaniards, he retreated to his relatives among the M’ranaos/Iranuns.

The Sultanate of SULU

The Sultanate of Sulu was founded ca. 1400 by Syed Abu Bakr, an Arab who claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad, p.b.u.h. Syed Abu Bakr took on the regnal name Sharif Hashem, perhaps to emphasize his claim to the Hashemite bloodline. The Sultan of Sulu held sway over the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, and later North Borneo (now the Malaysian state of Sabah). The Zamboanga peninsula’s ruler changed depending upon the vicissitudes of fortune. Maguindanao, Sulu and the Spanish took turns in ruling Zamboanga, known locally as Samboangan.

PALAWAN

Palawan Island used to be a territory of the Sultanate of Brunei. In the 1660s, after the successful intervention of the Sulu Sultan in the dynastic quarrel in Brunei, Sultan Muaddin of Brunei gave Sabah and Palawan to the Sultanate of Sulu.

In December 1893, due to old age, Sultan Harun ar-Rashid abdicated in favor of his cousin Jamal ul-Kiram II. He transferred his residence to Palawan and used the title “Sultan Jubilado de Palawan“. The Spanish continued paying him his monthly honorarium as sultan as per their agreement. He died in April 1899. Thus, at the end of the Spanish era and the beginning of the American era, a Sulu Sultan reigned over Palawan.

SABAH

Sabah used to be a territory of the Sultanate of Brunei. In the 1660s, after the successful intervention of the Sulu Sultan in the dynastic quarrel in Brunei, Sultan Muaddin of Brunei gave Sabah and Palawan to the Sultanate of Sulu.

On Jan. 22, 1878, the Sultan Jamal ul Azamof Sulu granted “pajak” (lease or trade monopoly) to Baron von Overbeck over Sabah or North Borneo. The Sulu royalty has NEVER given up its claim over Sabah or North Borneo.